I'm a medical assistant with two years of experience in a dermatology practice preparing for the Certified Dermatology Technician exam. The exam is 150 questions and I've heard passing is around 75% but haven't confirmed that officially. My study timeline is 10 weeks at about an hour per day using the official CDT candidate handbook and a skincare textbook my supervising physician loaned me.
My practice scores are around 68-70% after five weeks. The anatomy and physiology of skin sections I'm confident about — working in a derm office every day gives you that foundation naturally. Where I'm struggling is pharmacology content: drug categories used in dermatology, their mechanisms, and contraindications. There are a lot of topical and systemic medications to track across acne, psoriasis, eczema, and skin cancer management.
Is the pharmacology section really as large as it seems, or am I overweighting it? And which drug classes come up most often — retinoids, biologics, antibiotics? I want to triage my remaining five weeks intelligently.
Your 68-70% after five weeks is a solid place to be. Most people find their scores jump in the final three to four weeks when everything starts connecting. Keep the daily practice going and you'll likely land at 75-78% by exam day.
The procedural section on my exam was lighter than expected — maybe 15% of questions. Don't over-invest there. Clinical knowledge sections covering lesion identification and treatment protocols carry much more weight. Make sure you can identify primary vs secondary lesions and know the ABCDE melanoma criteria inside out.
Pharmacology is probably 20-25% of the exam. Retinoids and teratogenicity warnings, biologics used in psoriasis (TNF inhibitors, IL-17 and IL-23 inhibitors), and topical corticosteroid potency classes are the highest yield. Know the iPLEDGE requirements for isotretinoin cold — I had three questions on that specifically.
Infection control and HIPAA basics showed up more than I anticipated — probably five or six questions. Coming from a medical assistant background you probably have that covered, but worth a quick review in your last week so it doesn't catch you off guard.
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